Consultations and surveys City Centre PSPO Review – Public Consultation

What is a PSPO?

A Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) is a legal tool used by trained and authorised council and police officers. It helps prevent and respond to anti-social behaviour, and supports a city centre that is:

• safe
• clean
• welcoming

A PSPO applies to a defined area. In this case, to cover the Deansgate and Piccadilly wards.

It sets out rules about behaviour in these public spaces.

Breaking the rules

Breaking a PSPO rule without a valid reason is a criminal offence.

This may result in:

• a fixed penalty notice (fine), or
• prosecution in court

If the case goes to court, a person could receive a fine of up to £1,000.

Why is this being reviewed?

The current PSPO:

• was introduced in 2020
• was extended in 2023 for three years
• is due to expire this summer

Because of this, it now needs to be reviewed.

Council officers are proposing to extend it for a further three years, with some minor changes.

Why do we need a City Centre PSPO?

The Council and Greater Manchester Police already have a range of powers to help keep the city centre safe, clean and welcoming.

However, there are gaps in these powers, which can make certain issues difficult to address.

The PSPO helps deal with issues such as:

• anti-social behaviour linked to people drinking alcohol
• businesses not disposing of waste properly
• people urinating or defecating in public places

These issues affect the quality of life of residents, workers and visitors.

View current PSPO

What changes are being proposed?

Some parts of the current order are no longer needed and are proposed to be removed.

Nitrous oxide

The current PSPO includes rules against:

• using nitrous oxide
• discarding nitrous oxide canisters

Since then, possession of nitrous oxide has become a criminal offence under national law.

This means PSPO powers are no longer required for this issue.

Syringes

There is also a rule that prohibits discarding syringes in public places.

This rule has not been used in the past three years because:

• it has been difficult to gather enough evidence to enforce it
• other approaches are considered more effective for supporting people who use needles in public places

For these reasons, it is proposed that this rule is removed.

Area covered

The evidence supports extending the rules so they apply across the entire city centre, covering both:

• Deansgate ward
• Piccadilly ward